White Sox Minor League Update: April 23, 2026

Charlotte Knights 11, Nashville Sounds 9
The Knights pulled off their first three-game win streak of April in a duel that nearly came down to the wire. The bats steadily put up runs as the pitching slowly relented as the innings progressed. Jarred Kelenic, who is clinging to what prospect standing he retains after a rough start to the season, was responsible for one of four home runs, and he took two additional trips around the bases thanks to two walks.

Jacob Gonzalez had himself a night, going yard once in fourth and once in the sixth to bump his home run total to five and OPS to .833. Recasting himself as a slugger has done wonders for Gonzalez, as he’s growing into a Lenyn Sosa-esque player with his defensive versatility and thump in his bat. But that probably means he’ll be shipped off for a PTBN and pennies next year.

Unfortunately, the pitching didn’t have as successful a night. Shane Smith got beat up in his third game back in the minors, unable to make it through three innings while giving up five runs, three walks and a home run. Charlotte’s always rough on pitchers, but Smith really doesn’t look ready to return to Chicago before Memorial Day. While Ben Peoples got the win after relieving Smith, Adisyn Coffey and Wikelman González couldn’t finish their outings without costing the Knights several runs. At least González stretched his save opportunity to 2 ⅔ innings and struck out six to make his one run allowed forgivable and give most of the bullpen a night off in advance of Saturday’s twinbill.

Columbus Clingstones 5, Birmingham Barons 3
The Barons were ousted in a pitching battle that unfortunately came down to Jairo Iriarte. Jake Palisch’s six-inning, two-runs allowed start was spoiled by a slow offense backed by an Alec Makarewicz solo shot, bases-jammed walk induced by Wilfred Veras and a Braden Montgomery RBI single that extended his hitting streak to 12 games. While Bham had a slight edge going into the ninth up, 3-2, Iriarte couldn’t close the night out. Instead of securing a save, he gave up a two-out bomb to the Clingstones’ Jordan Groshans, sending the game to extras.

The night only got worse for Iriarte from there. He got two quick strikeouts in the 10th, but then allowed the ghost runner to steal third, walked the next guy and gave Columbus the lead with a wild pitch.

The Clingstones took advantage of Iriarte being thrown off-guard and squeaked a second security run before the inning ended. Columbus banked on a tired Bham offense, and it paid off. Jeral Pérez grounded into a double play with the bases loaded, and the Barons continue their slog through April.

Hub City Spartanburgers 10, Winston-Salem Dash 7
After taking a brutal beating on Thursday, the Dash succumbed to another night of poor pitching. Justin Sinbaldi took the brunt of the runs allowed, giving up seven off 10 hits, including two home runs, through five. Jack Young got Winston-Salem through two scoreless innings before Hub City tacked on three more runs against Seth Keener, who has stood hardly any chance against hitters in his six games to accumulate 10 earned runs in 10 ⅓ innings.

The bats packed a couple of punches, but it wasn’t enough to knock out Hub City. Caleb Bonemer notched his sixth home run of the season — remind me again why he’s still in High-A? — alongside Colby Shelton to keep pace with the Spartanburgers. But, the second and third hitters couldn’t carry the lineup, and the Dash are slowly coming back down to earth after their hot start. George Wolkow, who had the spotlight in his face last year during Spring Training, has been struggling to contribute in a meaningful way for some time. He’s barely staying afloat in two levels below the majors (.185/.270/.369), but hopefully he’s just a late bloomer and not a bust.

Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 7, Charleston RiverDogs 6
Hope isn’t lost for Kanny! The Cannon Ballers are hunting their first series win after evening the series against the RiverDogs. Help was sparse, but Billy Carlson, Javier Mogollón and Stiven Flores held steady in the middle of the lineup, playing small ball and combining for four of the six Dash hits and three of the seven total runs. While Kanny’s 33% conversion rate with RISP wasn’t ideal, all the Ballers had to do was outlast the RiverDogs.

The pitching did just enough to escape Charleston’s adamant bats. Caedmon Parker could’ve fared better off the jump, handing three runs to the RiverDogs before the third inning ended. Trey Cooper cut Kanny’s 6-3 lead close in the sixth by giving up a three-spot as if he was relying on the offense for some relief. While he didn’t get his wish, the CBs managed to do without the insurance and evaded a third straight loss.